The New York Times has polled a number of cinematic luminaries to determine the best 100 films of the 21st century, and the list’s top thriller is Mulholland Drive, the late David Lynch‘s surreal neo-noir mystery. At #2, behind only Bong Joon Ho‘s Oscar-winning Parasite, Mulholland Drive is also the top English-language film on the list. Although the film underwent a torturous process to get from page to screen, and wasn’t a box-office smash, it is considered to be one of Lynch‘s masterpieces.
Mulholland Drive‘s production was an unusual one, even by the standards of David Lynch. The project was originally intended to be a TV series for ABC with an open-ended central mystery, much like Lynch‘s earlier TV project Twin Peaks. However, ABC executives were dissatisfied with Lynch‘s cut, and cancelled the project in 1999; Lynch then took it to StudioCanal, who financed Lynch to restructure the footage into a feature film with a considerably more obscure resolution to its plot. It subsequently premiered at Cannes in 2001 to rapturous acclaim, and is frequently considered the greatest film of Lynch‘s career. Collider‘s Thomas Butt considers it “a sacred text for those aspiring to use art as a device to solve the cryptic nature of the world.”
What Is ‘Mulholland Drive’ About?
What exactly Mulholland Drive is about is a matter of debate for film scholars and audiences. However, it stars Naomi Watts as Betty Elms, an aspiring actor from Deep River, Ontario, who comes to Los Angeles to realize her dreams. There, she finds a mysterious amnesiac (Laura Harring), the sole survivor of an accident; she takes the name “Rita” from a poster for the classic film Gilda, starring Rita Hayworth. Together, the two women seek out the truth behind Rita’s past; a mysterious blue key in her purse is their only clue, and it eventually leads them to the bizarre Club Silencio. Meanwhile, a director (Justin Theroux) is pressured by mobsters into casting an unknown starlet in his new film; a man (Patrick Fischler) has nightmarish visions of a horrific figure lurking behind a diner; and hitman Joe Messing (Mark Pellegrino) botches an assassination. There is, of course, a twist: in the end, nobody is what they truly seem, and reality may only be what we make of it.
Mulholland Drive was the breakout role for Watts, who had languished in obscurity for a decade. She would subsequently make a small appearance in Lynch‘s final film, Inland Empire, and played a pivotal role in Twin Peaks: The Return.
Mulholland Drive is available for digital rental and purchase from Apple and other platforms.
via Collider